I’ve mentioned it before but when I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Mortuary Science in 1980 I believe that there was one woman in our graduating class of about 40 people (2.5%).  I’m not amazed at the progress that women in the industry have made since that time because the ones I know do a great job as funeral directors.

Just yesterday I came across two articles dealing with the gender changes in funeral service.  The first article comes from the Chattanooga Times Free Press and deals with discussions from two women who are owners in their funeral businesses.  You can read that article here.  One of the women, Shawn Williamson, part-owner of two funeral homes has seen a change in the business.  She was one of about eight women in a class of forty (20%) that graduated nearly 20 years ago at John A Gupton College.  Ms. Williamson commented in the article that at that time many funeral home owners did not see women as “emotionally strong enough, physically strong enough, and mentally strong enough for the profession.”

Williamson has seen a big change in perception, however and now says,  “. . .  as times are changing, the daughters are actually getting into the industry.”

Another article from the Associated Press that you can read here mentions that nearly 65% of graduates in funeral director programs in the United States in 2017 were female.  The article states that is the highest number ever recorded by the American Board of Funeral Service Education.  The article also comments that women are being drawn in record numbers to a profession in which just a few decades ago, it was rare for a woman to be involved.

The article also states that at the State University of New York at Canton 60 of the 75 students enrolled in the program this year are women. . .that’s 80%.

Funeral Director Daily take:  I worked at a funeral home with all men as funeral directors for the first 25 years of my working life.  We then hired a woman and since then all of our new funeral director hires have been women.  They do a great job and bring a new perspective to a profession that has been dominated by their male counterparts for a long time.

I think what is going to be interesting is what will happen to the industry as these women grow into ownership and leadership roles in the death care industry.  I’ve been licensed for going on 40 years and most of the people I know in industry leadership are male.  I think that will change and with the change will come a change in how the profession is perceived.

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